Nature Contemplation and Transformation: An Ecocritical Reading of Three Portuguese Picturebooks

This article examines literary representations of internal and external transformations prompted by moments of contemplation of nature. Adopting an ecocritical approach (Glotfelty and Fromm) and a methodology that draws upon the ‘Nature in Culture Matrix’ (Goga et al.), one reflects on the powerful impact of the aesthetic appreciation of natural elements (Karlsen), often embedded in a context propitious to silence and mindfulness, which reinforces the experience. From a narratological perspective, the analysis also focuses on the verbal and visual strategies used to depict the relationship between human or anthropomorphised characters and the nonhuman environment as well as the moment when the latter becomes the source of an epiphany. The corpus comprises three Portuguese picturebooks by the awarded authors Isabel Minhós Martins and Bernardo Carvalho: Um dia na praia [A day at the beach] (2008), O rapaz que gostava de aves [The boy who loved birds] (2012) and Hei, Big Bang! (2019). In these picturebooks, events such as staring at the ocean or watching the sunset or a beautiful bird become turning points in the lives of the characters, leading to sustainable actions and environmental awareness or to a deeper connection with one’s thoughts.